Doesn’t necessarily look cheap to me. Brand new 2013 S MSRP 28k, figure getting at least 1-2k off list, subtract $7500 tax rebate, you end up around $19k. These two year old ones are going for similar prices, but they’re higher end.

I believe the lower resale values are a combination of things. First of all, the lease deals on a new Leaf are hard to beat and can even be more affordable than buying a used one. But also I think there are a lot of people who don’t mind getting a new leaf under warranty but aren’t quite sure they trust the technology enough to buy a used one. That will change in time as people see the track-record of reliability.

All valid points. In this brave new world of EVs, resale is bound to be plagued by uncertainty. It will take a few years for things to shake out. In the mean time, I hope that potential new buyers aren’t scared off when they see a $37k car sold for $11k after 1 year / 8k miles! I have a feeling Fox News will be all over this…

For the first time in a very very long time we are seeing actual competion amongst automakers where price is crucially important. Therefore, since batteries have been improving 10% a year for the last 4 years running (McKinsey study) the newest cars and new entrants into the EV race must and will continue to compete on price while they try to find sweet spots in an emerging marketplace. When price reductions are combined with tax credits, the decline slope steepens. Automakers also realize that their ev products MUST have succeeded by 2016 AND be price comparable with ICE in order to be self sustaining in the then unsubsidized marketplace. All this bodes well for growing market penetration but also lower used car prices for EVs. This is exactly why I leased my chevy volt. The residual on the lease is 30k as of Aug 2014, but I can ALREADY buy a used Volt for 24k. So, leasing is the capital friendly chess move.

Meh. This would be tempting. But the 6.6kW charger is a MUST for me. 6kW is the only thing that makes non-overnight AC charging worth anything at all. I mean, it’s the only thing that makes it non-overnight. I’ve done too many calculations of how I could limp to nearby towns and back using 6kW chargers to envision having an EV with only 3kW AC. 6kW makes day trips to nearby towns a possibility. 3kW completely rules it out–overnight stays only. It’s a 100% / 2X difference, and it totally changes my imagination of what I could do with the vehicle, even if I only leave my town once a month or once every other month.

Looking at Active listings is not the best way to gauge the going price on Ebay. You need to look through Sold listings. Honestly they’re not going for much less than what you can find on Craigslist these days around the San Fran area especially when you factor in shipping costs of $500-$1000. A couple of the Ebay listings are located in Tennessee which would cost me a fair amount to ship across country. I’d also avoid cars any located in hot climates like Texas, Arizona, etc of which a few of the Ebay listings are located. I’ve been watching the used Leaf market for a few months and will probably wait till mid summer as more leases expire and pre-owned supply increases.

Consequently, when Tesla was fulfilling their initial wave of orders, I’d estimate 50% of the San Francisco area listings on Craigslist included an actual comment from the seller that they were selling their Leaf because they were getting an S. That’s died down lately.

BTW, try KBB’ing a 2011 SV in Very Good condition through private party -> $15,148. I would presume their pricing formula factors in whatever the newest model costs with 2 years of depreciation.